


Poems

by Gray_Skies_Rising



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jason Todd Writes Poetry, Jason Todd-centric, Jumping onto the ‘Jason writes poetry’ train, Non-Traditional Poetry, Poetry, both are mild though, what even is my writing style
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23458279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gray_Skies_Rising/pseuds/Gray_Skies_Rising
Summary: He sits with his back ramrod straight on the folded blanket instead of sprawled out underneath it. He organizes the pencils in a different way than their writer did. The fairy lights are almost never turned on. Unlike the alcove’s writer, the lonely detective does not visit in the middle of the night. The notebook is held, and it’s pages turned, with a reverence that it has never known.The batarang is underneath the folded blanket. He does not know it is there.The lonely detective looks upon the pages of a worn out notebook and begins to read.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Catherine Todd & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 17
Kudos: 82





	1. A Writer and a Detective

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not going to lie, this is really just a thing so I can practice writing poetry. So all feedback and/or ideas are not only accepted, but encouraged. Hopefully, you all will enjoy this ride along with me.

In Wayne Manor there is an alcove that only two inhabitants know of.

Adoptive son of Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd and, of course, the butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

Inside of this alcove there are a total of five things.

A Wonder Woman blanket, a mostly full notebook, an incomplete set of Justice League themed mechanical pencils, an old string of fairy lights, and a dull batarang.

The alcove has not changed in its writer’s absence.

The blanket is washed and folded. Ready for a midnight adventure.

The notebook is only partially filled. Potential cut short with blank pages that still needed to be filled. Much like its writer.

The pencils are still an incomplete set. The Green Lantern one is the only one missing.

The Fairy lights are still hung by bits of tape. Each piece renewed every time it began to peel.

The batarang was still dull from the latest round of training. The writer never had gotten around to sharpening it.

One day a lonely little detective found the alcove.

Still free of dust due to a very hardworking man.

The number of people now in the know is once again two.

The lonely detective changes things.

Not big things. Only the small ones.

He sits with his back ramrod straight on the folded blanket instead of sprawled out underneath it. He organizes the pencils in a different way than their writer did. The fairy lights are almost never turned on. Unlike the alcove’s writer, the lonely detective does not visit in the middle of the night. The notebook is held, and it’s pages turned, with a reverence that it has never known.

The batarang is underneath the folded blanket. He does not know it is there.

The lonely detective looks upon the pages of a worn out notebook and begins to read.


	2. Ghosts

Ghosts

8/12

Ghosts walk these halls

Fading from one life to the next

Ghosts haunt these rooms

Spying in on an old life

Dead people

Nothing to be afraid of

People walk these halls

Clawing their way from one life to the next

People haunt these rooms

Living in an old life

Alive ghosts

Are you afraid of them?

Tell me

Who has the right

Who

Empty spirit but full of life

Or

Full of spirit but empty of life

Who

Who has the right

To make you afraid in your own home

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoying it so far?


	3. Screams and Laughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: referenced drug use, and blood. Both are non-graphic

Screams and Laughter

5/29

Screams are the laughter of the damned

Ripped from your throat to theirs

Red water flowing from your pores

Staining both your hands

Red water flows from your mouth

Choking out your screams

A colorful pill lays on the tongue

A used point lays discarded on the tile

Laughter of the blessed echos below you

Eliciting the laughter of the damned

Your throat to theirs

The red water doesn’t stain the tile

It stains the blessed

It stains the cursed

It stains

And it stains

But never the tile

The red water steams beneath your skin

Blistering hot to your freezing cold

Children scream with the laughter of the damned

The blessed pay no heed

Their laughter is empty

Soulless

The damned follow suit

After all

Screams are the laughter of the damned

-JPT


	4. Flashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason totally became suspicious of ~someone~ following him and Bruce on patrol and you cannot convince me otherwise. He was probably determined to prove it to.

Flashes

4/25

Life comes and goes in flashes

Blindingly bright one moment

Darker than night the next

The sudden change 

Leaves spots dancing in your eyes

Leaves your head spinning

You twist around

Trying to find the source

You call out

No one answers

A hand lands on your shoulder

Guiding you away

No one was there

They say

But spots still dance in your eyes

Blinding as the sun

And then

Darker than night

Life comes and goes in flashes

And one day

You’ll find the one behind the camera

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to feed your local writer with kudos and comments!


	5. Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! A little longer chapter just for you!
> 
> Tw: mentions of blood, drug use and abuse. All are non graphic

Good

6/15

I’ll be good

I’ll be good

I’ll be good

A belt comes down

I’ll be good

Blood swells

I’ll be good

A mother’s cry

I’ll be good

One to many clues

I’ll be good

One to many pills

I’ll be good

A father's anger

I’ll be good

A mother’s death

I’ll be good

I’ll be good

I’ll be good

Fighting for starvation

I’ll be good

Fighting for pain

I’ll be good

The wrong place

I’ll be good

The right time

I’ll be good

A kind hand

I’ll be good

A rough voice

I’ll be good

Full bellies and greasy hands

I’ll be good

A purpose

I’ll be good

A home

I’ll be good

A family

I’ll be good

I’ll be good

I’ll be go-

I’ll be-

I’ll-

I...

I am good

I _am_ good

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideas? Feedback? Extra kudos? A keysmash?
> 
> Please comment them down below!


	6. Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I incapable of writing fluffy poetry?
> 
> TW: references to suicide, self harm, and abuse

Stranger

  
2/4

There is a kind stranger

They leave food on the door steps

In back alleys

Wrapped in pretty paper

Tied with a bow

Their sleeve rides up

You don’t ask

Unwritten rules

There is a forgiving stranger

They leave money

Pressed into a closed fist

They smile at you

Like you did nothing wrong

Their foundation smudges

You don’t stare

Unspoken rules

There is a stranger

They stand at the edge

Close to tipping

You don’t reach out

There are rules

Unwritten

Unspoken

Don’t ask

Don’t stare

When did cats scratch in straight lines?

When did stairs look like hands?

Unwritten

Unspoken

Don’t ask

Don’t stare

There is a stranger

They stand on the edge

Close to tipping

You break a rule

You reach out

To push or pull

Outcome unknown

And they slip

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?


	7. Cloak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I asked my sister for a one word prompt and she gave me the word ‘cloak’. Hope you enjoy!

Cloak

9/13

A cloak covers you

Masking shape and form

A cloak hides you

Blending into the background

A cloak protects you

Can’t hit what you can’t see

A cloak is there

Grounding you

It waves in your wake

It looks like your flying

Soaring above everyone else

Never again touching the ground

A cloak covers you

It hides you

It protects you

It’s there

Your flying

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments bring up the chances of seeing more of my attempts at writing poetry!


	8. Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: none

Time

1/28

The sands of time

Sifting

Changing

Never the same

Like water through your fingers

Days grow shorter

Nights longer

Colder

Breaths crystallize

Smoke from a cigarette

The breath of a dragon

A pot coming to boil

Blue skin

Burning

Aching

Numb

Begging

Cold

Hungry

Please

Then

Days grow longer

Nights shorter

Warmer

The air melts

Your skin is pink

There are other ways to survive

The waters of time

Slipping

Sliding

Never the same

Like sand through your fingers

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated and encouraged!


	9. Ribbons

Ribbons

1/12

Ribbons  
Blue ones  
Red and black ones  
Swirled with purple and brown

They wrap around you

Suffocating  
Crushing

Knife edges shredding porcelain skin

Breathing  
Hollow

You grab for the stars

Silken streamers are all you grip

Worlds lay just beyond you

Spinning and winding

Ribbons color the surface

Silken knives scratching at porcelain

Ribbons wind their way around you

Blue ones  
Red and black ones  
Swirled with purple and brown

-JPT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	10. Burning the Matchboys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Amanda Lovelace’s ‘the witch doesn't burn in this one’.

Burning the Matchboys

7/25

The blazing cottage lights the town square  
As the witches dance around the flames.

“What a shame.”  
He says,  
Shaking his head

I watch

As a woman stumbles out of the flames  
As she stumbles into her sisters arms

I see

The bruises, lit by the flames, on her throat and wrists  
The child, wrapped tightly in an unsinged blanket, held close

I hear

The cries of men  
Thinking she is lost

I smile

Knowing she is found

-JPT


End file.
